Morena Baccarin Up for ‘Avengers’ Role

The 'V' star joins Mary Elizabeth Winstead and more for the role of Nick Fury's 'sidekick?' Who the heck is that?

The cast of Joss Whedon’s upcoming Avengers movie is about to get mightier: Samuel L. Jackson revealed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night that casting is underway for the key role of Nick Fury’s ‘sidekick.’ Marvel will be conducting screen tests on Friday for the part, with V and Firefly star Morena Baccarin and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World‘s Mary Elizabeth Winstead headlining a group of actresses up for the part. How I Met Your Mother‘s Cobie Smulders and Jessica Lucas of Big Momma’s House 3 are also in contention, Hollywood Reporter reports.

But who is Nick Fury’s sidekick? Internet speculation – oh, so reliable internet speculation – points to Janet Van Dyne, aka The Wasp, but while it’s plausible she doesn’t really fit the description. (Janet Van Dyne was a celebrity fashion designer in most comic book versions of The Avengers.) It’s probably more likely that these talented young ladies are vying for the more significant role of SHIELD agent – and future director – Maria Hill. A relatively recent comic book creation, Hill nevertheless is a major part of Marvel Comics today and played a significant part in major crossover events like Civil War and Secret Invasion.

Also, apparently Tony Stark is about to get chumped.

Hill also sports Morena Baccarin’s V-era short hair, so with that – and Baccarin’s history with Joss Whedon – we think she’s kind of a shoe-in. CRAVE Online will be back with more news once there’s more news to be back with…